Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Who Is Coming Out To Protest Against Morsi In Tahrir Square?

Mr. Collinson President Morsi yesterday appeared to have stuck by his emergency declaration after the meeting with the Egyptian judiciary. Does that deepen the concerns about what’s going on in Egypt that you spoke about yesterday?

Carney: ...We believe firmly that this has to -- that this needs to be resolved internally as part of a transition to democracy and the building of institutions that create checks and balances in an Egypt that will be -- that will have, as a government, an entity that is more responsive to the will of the people in Egypt and more democratic. And where we have concerns we raise them, but we also understand that this is an internal Egyptian process.Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 11/27/2012

Putting aside the excuses for the US once again standing on the sidelines, Morsi has gotten himself in hot water, just as he and Egypt became the force behind the enforcement of the Israel - Hamas ceasefire.

The same chants used against Hosni Mubarak were turned against his successor Tuesday as more than 200,000 people packed Egypt's Tahrir Square in the biggest challenge yet to Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The massive, flag-waving throng protesting Morsi's assertion of near-absolute powers rivaled some of the largest crowds that helped drive Mubarak from office last year.

That sets the stage for a drawn-out battle that could throw the nation into greater turmoil. Protest organizers have called for another mass rally Friday. If the Brotherhood responds with demonstrations of its own, as some of its leaders have hinted, it would raise the prospect of greater violence after a series of clashes between the two camps in recent days.

The current narrative is that it is as if the clock has been turned back and the forces for democracy vs dictatorship have again lined up against each other.

BLUM: There is speculation that the renewal of demonstrations in Tahrir Square — this time against Morsi for stealing even more power than he already had — will bring about his ouster. I highly doubt it. Nor are the crowds protesting his latest moves a gathering of democracy-seekers. In fact, while all these ostensible Facebook users were out in the streets of Cairo this week, they managed to get in a lot of molestation of women — something that happens every time there is a rally in Egypt. Freedom is not what they’re after; it is, rather, a continual struggle over which group gets to become the robbers of the freedoms of other groups.

It may be early to get a clear idea about what is behind the protests at Tahrir Square. Last year it seemed obvious that the protesters were the voice of democracy -- until the Muslim Brotherhood hijacked those protests.

It would be a huge disappointment to see Muslim extremists do that again.

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